Pedrali and industry 4.0. In conversation with Monica Pedrali

I believe that teamwork is fundamental. Within the company we share the goals of keeping up a high level of passion and we organize our methods to increase the level of trust. Success is achieved when everyone collaborates. The goal is to create an environment where skills can be dynamic, where the focus is on the growth of young people for a new generation of manufacturing industry in our territory.

I believe the key is to foster synergy between a variety of skills: customer care, area sales manager, digital communication specialists, press office, graphic designers, exhibition and product designers. Together we’re stronger.

There were two moments that marked a turning point for me and for Pedrali.

The first, participation in the Salone del Mobile in 1988, which gave us an international scope, with a share of exports that has reached 80% since the 90s.

The second in 2011, when the Frida chair, designed by Odo Fioravanti in 2008, won the Compasso d’Oro ADI. Having believed in a young designer and experimented with the use of three-dimensional plywood, recently made available on the market, to create a lightweight, sculptural yet durable chair, was a winning challenge. Frida was able to explore a new potential in woodworking.

At the celebrations for the Compasso d’Oro ADI in Rome, I again met Patrick Jouin, having first got to know him at the SaloneSatellite. A short time later my brother Giuseppe and I met with him to work on an upholstered, elegant and super comfortable seat for the Dorchester restaurant in London. This is how we came to create Ester, a perfect synthesis of ergonomics, elegance and functionality, as well as a turning point in the evolution of our collections of upholstered products.

Pedrali is an industry 4.0, its factories are equipped with interconnected machinery. Every year we make investments in innovation, technology and plant. The use of digitalization, technologically advanced machinery and process automation ensures high quality standards, reduction of waste and delivery times, and greater flexibility in responding to market demands. In terms of distribution, we believe in an omnichannel network that enhances the value of our presence in the territory.

The company was founded by my father Mario in 1963 as a craft workshop making wrought iron furniture for villas and hotels. In the early 1970s he took part in the first fairs abroad, and in 1988 for the first time he exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan.

My brother Giuseppe and I stand for the second generation. From childhood we were at our parents’ side at trade fairs. I loved attending photo shoots. My father rented beautiful villas as settings for photographing the products, with models in very elegant garments showing them off.

In the office I observed the typists, the staff at work. I enjoyed playing with scraps of fabric in the upholstery department. I liked to study the way the cushions were made and the upholstery of the furnishings, with rich patterns and fringes. The first experiences in the company, during my last years of study, were alongside the sales department and at the trade fair.

My brother and I joined the company at the same time and gained experience in various departments and offices. After a few years our father entrusted us with roles of responsibility and in the 90s we were made partners. There were about seventy of us working for the company then, and now Pedrali has 320 staff in the two production sites at Mornico al Serio and Manzano.

Joining the company was a natural step, shouldering the responsibilities that slowly passed from our father to us. Today our father Mario holds the post of Honorary President and, even though the operational and decision-making side has passed the baton to us, he’s still a source of inspiration and advice.

Pedrali continues its commitment to sustainability by adopting strategies to improve it. One example is the installation in its factories of over 3000 photovoltaic panels, or retrieving the hot water produced by the processes in the plastic molding department to heat the production departments. Our commitment to the planet is shown by investments in system and product certifications, as well as in concrete actions to increase the quality of the materials used and the production plant.

In 2020 Pedrali presented its first collections in recycled polypropylene, 50% from post-consumer plastic waste and 50% from industrial plastic waste.

The products made from wood are FSC® C114358 certified and, since 2018, we use water-based paints consisting mostly of resins of vegetable origin on our collections in wood.